Jackdaw Summer

Every summer Liam and Max roam the wild countryside of Northumberland – but this year things are different. One hot summer’s day a jackdaw leads the two boys into an ancient farm house where they find a baby, wrapped in a blanket, with a scribbled note pinned to it: PLESE LOOK AFTER HER RITE. THIS IS A CHILDE OF GOD.

And so begins Jackdaw Summer. A summer when friendships are tested. A summer when lines between good and bad are blurred. A summer that Liam will never forget…

‘Thought-provoking and poetic.’ The Sunday Times’ 100 Best Children’s Books

‘A rich and satisfying tale of lives turned around…sharp and snappy as well as thoughtful.’ The Observer

‘This gripping novel, beautifully crafted, is David Almond writing at the top of his game.’ Bookfest

‘A vivid and unnerving portrayal of raw adolescent emotion. As ever, Almond’s writing is lucid and accessible, and the novel’s themes of acceptance and tolerance are complex and challenging.’ The Bookseller

‘This evocative, intelligent and moving novel amounts to an essay about the potential savagery in human nature. Simultaneously poetic and down-to-earth.’  The Sunday Times

‘Almond is a master storyteller. there is more than enough in this brooding story to keep readers engrossed right up to its near-cataclysmic ending.’  The Independent

‘Almond’s writing is like the perfect outfit – it may look casual, but everything fits just right.’ The Sunday Times

‘Nobody since William Golding captures so perfectly the savage intensity that underlies the joshing of young teenage males.’ The Herald

‘One of the finest writers of children’s novels today. Jackdaw Summer is a wonderful piece of writing for children – unsettling yet poetic. Nobody evokes childhood like Almond.’ The Guardian